Wrong Place, Wrong Moment
by Mighty-wants-to-draw
Summary: A Friday afternoon, Hiroshi and Kazuya are taken to an old mansion by a group of bullies. The thing they didn't know: there was something else inside. Stuck inside the mansion, they have to find a way out of the mansion before this 'thing' kills them. Ao oni v1 rewrite!
1. A Friday afternoon

**Hey, everyone! Mighty here with a new story! Now, unknown tale is almost done Beta-reading, so I'll post the modified chapters soon. Talking about that story, I still need some OCs! If you have one, send one to me by PM or review! I have a writer's block for the midnight game, but I'll try to finish it before Halloween or at Halloween because, well, it's a bit Halloween-y :p.**

**So, back to this story. I had a quick talk with someone on deviantart and it gave me a boost to write this story! It won't follow the original game as closely as "The mansion in the woods", but it's still a rewrite :p. So, enjoy this v1 rewrite!**

* * *

**Wrong place, wrong moment**

**Chapter 1: A friday afternoon**

Hiroshi verified for the fourth time if he had everything in his bag for the week-end. He didn't have a lot of homework, but he wanted to do them before as fast as possible so he could be sure he was done with everything. He sighed and crossed his arms. If he had known Kazuya would be _that_ slow, he would've started his math homework. Hiroshi looked down at his bag and back at the corridor where Kazuya was supposed to come out of. He could make his homework now. He took out his notebook and his manual that he opened at the good page and started doing the exercises.

When he finished the first exercise, he saw some movement by the corner of his eye. He looked up from his manual and spotted Kazuya walking down the small hallway. Hiroshi waved and put his things away.

"What took you so long?" he asked to his friend.

Kazuya removed his elastic and remade his ponytail.

"I had an exam so I had to finish it before I left," he answered.

"Math?"

"Yeah, it's not always easy for me, you know."

"But you never want me to explain the things to you…"

"But I have to get it by myself!"

Hiroshi rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Let's get going," he said.

Kazuya nodded and they exited the building.

"I heard they remove your copy right at the end of class, done or not, at high school," pointed out Hiroshi.

"…I don't want to go to high school anymore…" was Kazuya's only reply.

Hiroshi didn't have any difficulties at school and finished any exams after thirty minutes at most, unless it was a ministry exam, which could last three periods or more. Kazuya was a slow one, though. He couldn't finish an exam before the end of class and had difficulty understanding what he was taught, but he refused to get explanations from someone else than the teacher for a reason Hiroshi never understood. At least, he put a lot of efforts in his work, and that was the most important.

While they walked, Kazuya reached in his bag and got out a small box enveloped in a blue paper. Hiroshi looked at it curiously.

"It's your present," said Kazuya, as to answer his 'what's that' look.

"I know, but weren't you going to give it to me at home?"

"I think you should open it now, actually."

Hiroshi took the present and used his fingernail to have a grip and tear the blue wrapping away. Once he was done opening his present, he wasn't able to say a word for a good ten seconds.

"…Platinum?" He finally let out, "Pre-orders aren't even opened yet! How did you get it?"

Kazuya only giggled.

"Professional's secret," he answered.

Hiroshi smiled.

"Thank you! We have to try it tonight!"

"Agreed!"

Obviously, there was no card coming with the present. Odd for almost everyone, but normal for Hiroshi. Kazuya didn't really like written communication; he preferred talking. It was weird to say, because he was also very shy and had difficulty talking to people who weren't close friends. The boys continued walking toward Hiroshi's house. It was one or two streets away now. Kazuya lived close to the school too, but he had to exit through the back door, the other way.

They turned in a rather large alley, but stopped in their tracks. There was a closed fence closing the way.

"Looks like they closed it for summer," said Hiroshi, "we'll have to take the detour, come on."

They got out of the alley and walked to their left. They turned a corner and spotted four teens forming a square having a random discussion. One of them looked their way. Hiroshi pulled Kazuya back out of their field of view.

"Ugh… not _them_…" let out Hiroshi.

"Who?" replied Kazuya, who barely saw some human forms.

"I thought they were done with me…" continued Hiroshi as if he never heard his friend.

"Well, maybe they're just, you know, hanging out."

"Doubt it."

Kazuya looked away for a moment.

"Well, we can always take another detour, right?" he said after a couple of seconds.

"Yeah, let's go."

He then realized something.

"Oh, wait, we have to cross that street."

Hiroshi glanced at the four and his eyes met with one of theirs.

"Hey! Look who's back!" shouted one of them.

"No time to think, come on!" exclaimed Hiroshi, grabbing Kazuya's hand to guide him across the street.

They turned a couple of corners, but stopped right in their tracks when they arrived face-to-face with the only girl of the gang and a strong-looking boy with a bold silver forelock in his black hair.

"Gotcha," Hiroshi heard in his left ear.

He quickly turned to see the red-haired guy with the slightly smaller teen with spiky hair behind him holding Kazuya. He didn't have time to make a move before the guy with the silver lock grabbed his arms and brought them to his back violently.

"Hold 'im tight, Ryota," said the tallest of the gang, the one with dark red hair tied in a ponytail while walking the two steps separating him from Hiroshi.

He looked down at him with a smirk and then threw a punch at him. Hiroshi grunted at the contact and winced at the throbbing coming right after. He tried to get away from Ryota, but it was no use.

"What do you want, Takuro?" asked Hiroshi in a half-challenging tone, "Can't you just take someone else already!?"

Takuro giggled.

"Nah, ya're too fun to play with…"

Takuro then spotted the gift wrapping sticking out of Kazuya's bag. He took it and showed it to Hiroshi.

"Oh, it's your birthday? Ya should've told me! I have a lil' gift for ya too! Let's take a walk."

Hiroshi made a violent move to free himself, but Ryota had a really strong grip. Takuro noticed that and walked in front of Kazuya before landing a punch on his jaw.

"Stop that!" exclaimed Hiroshi.

"Stop givin' a bad time to Ryota and we'll make a deal out of it."

Takuro took the lead and guided the other through a couple of streets and into the woods. They walked for what seemed to be forever. For a moment, Hiroshi thought they were only aimlessly walking, but when he saw Takuro's smirk, he immediately knew that the teen had a destination in mind. It took around an hour before they reached a glade. The view made both Hiroshi and Kazuya stare in awe.

A mansion stood tall in the middle of the glade. A faded dirt path led to its front door. The bricks and windows were covered by growing plants. Takuro took a couple of steps forward and the others followed him. He stood in front of the door silently for a couple of seconds and then raised his foot. He violently kicked the door that opened at the contact. Takuro smirked and turned around, looking down at Hiroshi.

"Ya guys do nothin' but play video games all day… Ya need to learn to have some real fun. Now, get in there!"

Takuro stepped in first, the girl going second, Ryota third, and the guy holding Kazuya last.

* * *

**Yeah, I know, Ryota's hair is entirely silver, but I decided to do it differently. Why? Because I felt like it.**

**Here's the first chappie! It took me forever to write it! I took every two minutes I had to take my Ipod out and write it! At least now it's done! :D  
I hope I'll be able to post more often. I think I should be fine at the beggining of November. That chapter was pretty short, I know, but beggining chapters are always short in my stories!  
I'll try to draw the cover when I have some time. Yes, you read me, _draw _the cover. I'll try to make it look good (like my current profile pic or close to that), but if it doesn't work, I'll just put a random and vague pic like I always do!**

**So, please leave a review, it gives me a lot of motivation, and see you in the chapter!**


	2. Stepping in

**Chapter 2**

When they passed through the door, the first thing they noticed was the plants running on the walls and the floor. Personally, Hiroshi didn't expect it to be clean, but he didn't think it would be _that _messy. Takuro stood in the center, looking at the area. Some plants fell in front of the doorway, lightly blocking the exit.

"That's the place ya wanted us to go, right Takeshi?" he asked to the boy holding Kazuya.

"Yeah, this is the haunted mansion," he answered.

"What?" let out Kazuya, "Y-you mean, _this _is where that monster lives!?"

Takuro smirked.

"Ya seriously believe this place's haunted?"

"N-no…" replied Kazuya, though his tone of voice revealed he was lying.

"You really brought the good friend, Hiroshi," sneered Takuro.

The mansion itself was old. Even though no one really knew its location, everyone heard about it. Recently, a rumor had started running around saying a monster had taken residence in there. Hiroshi didn't believe it. If the mansion's was unknown to everyone (except those who randomly found it like Takuro's gang), how could someone know there was a monster in there? Besides, no one witnessed seeing a non-human creature lurking the past month, and the rumor magically appeared around that time. Kazuya seemed to believe it though, but he was quite the naïve type, so there was nothing surprising about that.

Takuro put his arm around the girl's shoulder.

"So, I thought that Megumi and I would go upstairs with Hiroshi while ya two would look around this floor with Kazuya, how about that?"

Hiroshi scoffed before anyone could reply anything.

"Is that why you brought us along? Because you were too scared to go alone?" he said with a challenging smirk.

Takuro didn't seem to appreciate. He took a couple of steps closer, stared down at Hiroshi's mocking eyes, and kneed him in the stomach.

"That's what I thought," continued Hiroshi regardless of the pain, "the truth always hurt more; you just proved it!"

Takuro raised his fist to punch him, but was interrupted by Kazuya.

"Stop that!" he exclaimed, unable to look at his friend getting pointlessly hit.

There was a sudden high-pitched noise. Everyone looked in the hallway next to the staircase, where the sound seemed to come from.

"Hey, Kazuya," said Takuro, "go check that out for us."

"What?" let out the said boy, "You mean, _me_?"

"Yeah, I think ya can handle this… No actually, ya're _just _the man for this job!"

Takeshi let go of his arms and took his bag to let him go in the hallway, but he didn't move.

"Get moving!" said Takuro, apparently losing his temper.

"Shut up!" exclaimed Hiroshi.

Takuro turned toward Hiroshi and clenched his fist.

"What did you just say?"

"I'm going instead," said Hiroshi, ignoring Takuro's question.

"Say what?"

"I said, I'm going, and there's nothing you'll do about it."

Takuro only smirked.

"Heh, then you better hurry up and see what that was."

Ryota let go of Hiroshi that started walking in the corridor.

"Hiroshi…" let out Kazuya under his breath.

The gang looked at him walk through the corridor. When he turned a corner, Takuro looked back at Kazuya.

"Pay up."

"Huh?"

"My _monthly friendship _tax; I want my payment now."

"I don't have any money…"

Takuro's expression seemed to darken. He cracked his knuckles and approached Kazuya, who started to get nervous about that.

"Let's make you pay the other way, then…"

Takeshi seemed to understand something, which caused him to step aside. When he was out of the way, Takuro shoved Kazuya on the wall, putting one of his large hands around the boy's neck. He clenched his free hand in a fist and brought it violently on his victim's face multiple times. He only stopped when blood got out of Kazuya's nose. Takuro tapped the boy's nose with his palm and an unnatural sound came out of it, followed by a loud whimper. He then kneed him in the stomach, forcing Kazuya's breath out, some air he couldn't inhale again because of the hand still wrapped tightly around his neck. Takuro let go, but forced his victim on the ground before kicking him repeatedly in the stomach. He was about to grab Kazuya's hair to force him to look up, but Megumi's voice stopped.

"Taku," she said, "I think we're not the only ones in here."

"What makes you say that?" he asked, leaving a barely conscious Kazuya on the floor.

"I think they are in the other room over there," she answered, pointing at a door at the very end of a long corridor. The door was half opened and a shadow seemed to be moving inside.

"Well, I'll make them leave," replied Takuro, landing a soft punch in his palm, "This is our territory now!"

* * *

Hiroshi couldn't help but look at the room he was in with a disgusted look. There seemed to be mud on the floor and growing plants a bit everywhere. The wallpaper had a yellow tint and some green-grayish spots on them.

"How did this even get in…?" he quietly asked himself, looking at the thin layer of mud.

He walked farther in the room. He'd take the very first object he'd see and go back to say that was the source of the noise. He didn't feel like looking in this room, but, mostly, he didn't want to leave Kazuya alone with those guys for a long moment. He had accepted to go instead of Kazuya only because he looked completely freaked out. It would have been better for him to look for the source of the noise, find the back door, and go. Well, Hiroshi knew his friend would have never left without him, but still. Anyway, he didn't see any back door yet, and maybe there wasn't even one in the mansion. He glanced behind a counter and an object caught his attention. The round broken form was white, pure white. It seemed to shine through the dirty room. The piece of dish seemed clean, as if someone had just washed it. Hiroshi took one of the plate's shards and stared at it for a second, as if it was telling him how it fell on the floor, if it was the object that made the noise.

A rustling behind him made him turn around. He approached the branches on the wall and pushed them out of the way. He found out there was a door behind. He pushed it open and poked his head in to take a quick peek; what if that was the backdoor? He figured out it was a normal room with only a mere bookshelf in it and a closed window covered by leaves and twigs. Hiroshi pulled himself away and exited the room.

"They better accept that proof…" mumbled Hiroshi while walking down the corridor.

When he turned the corner, he immediately noticed nobody was there. He started running but stopped when he felt himself slip. He continued his way by walking instead and reached the foyer. He looked around, but saw no one in the nearby hallways. The only thing left was Kazuya's bag next to a wall.

"Where did those guys take him?" he asked himself.

Thinking Takuro decided to leave him in here and forced Kazuya to go with them, he went to the doorway and tried to push away the branches covering the way out. The plants refused to move from their spot. Hiroshi's reflex was to kick them, but it didn't do anything; it was even more solid than a metal fence. He looked down and realized the plants seemed to have dug their way into the dirt.

"How did they manage to do that?" he thought out loud, "Oh, well, I guess I'm stuck here…"

Hiroshi backed away from the door and looked around, crossing his arms. He didn't even spend an hour yet in here and he already hated this place.

* * *

**Oh, believe me, Hiroshi, you will...  
I decided to go with a dirty mansion instead of a clean one. Hope you're okay with that, 'cause I ain't modifying that! I have some ideas that came with the dirty mansion thing.  
I know, short chapter. I think the real stuff starts next chapter!  
And, you read it: I used some actual quotes that I found in the game (I do not read japanese. I found an english version somehow)**

**So, please leave a review and see you in the next chapter!**


	3. Odd

**Hey guys, I'm aliiive :D I just had a break, and I was more active on deviantart lately or on my side project. So, I'll answer to questions and all that at the end, enjoy this chapter~!**

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**Chapter 3**

**-Hiroshi-**

Hiroshi's first floor exploration didn't start very well. The majority of the doors had those plants blocking the way in when he opened them, and if they didn't, the doors were simply locked. He tried kicking them open, but he didn't succeed doing so. He had never been the strong one, but the doors were supposed to be old. They _were _old; the wood was rotting.

Hiroshi was getting seriously pissed by all these doors. How would he find the backdoor if he was stuck in the same rooms? He headed upstairs and sighed. There were a lot of doors here too, and judging by the form of the ceiling, there was another staircase. He walked to the first door in sight to his left he put his hand on the knob, leaning on it.

He didn't actually expect it to open. He fell on the floor with a gasp. He stood up, shaking the dirt off himself and looking at the door. Why did _this_ one open? It didn't seem to have anything special in there. Maybe it was the old owner's bedroom. There was a bed in the corner of the room. Well, he guessed it was a bed. He didn't want to get close to that thing and verify. The wooden desk and bookshelf at the other side seemed to be rotting and at the verge of collapsing. There were still books on the shelves. He could bet the pages were getting eaten by bugs.

Hiroshi crossed his arms to think. If the owner seemed to like so much locking his doors, he probably put his keys somewhere. Maybe he kept them with him, and then anybody could have gone with them. The owner could have also put them somewhere in his room in a secret drawer or behind a book. He hoped it wasn't behind a book. Personally, he'd rather find an axe and cut his way through the plants than look for a key behind those disgusting-looking books. Maybe there was one behind the falling plants right next to him. He put his hands on the green branches and pulled them apart.

He barely dodged a punch by taking a step back. He put a hand on his racing heart while his eyes met with a boy. It was the guy holding Kazuya earlier who was standing there, shaking. What was his name again? Takeshi?

"What was that for!? You almost gave me a heart attack!" exclaimed the boy.

The teen only looked fearfully at Hiroshi. He looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"Hello?"

Still no response. He sighed in annoyance.

"I'm not here to play. Where did you take Kazuya?"

"…"

"Tell me! Where is he!?"

"Do I look like I fucking care about your boyfriend to you!?" snapped Takeshi.

Hiroshi flinched.

"B-boyfriend? You're in the wrong here!" replied a very confused child.

"Don't stay here, you idiot! Go hide!"

"From who? I didn't know you guys wanted to play hide and seek."

"Hide! You're crazy to look for him with that thing on the loose!"

Hiroshi frowned.

"_Thing_? Like Takuro? Yeah, he's one heck of a thing."

Takeshi seemed to hear something and looked around fearfully.

"What is it?" asked Hiroshi.

"Shh!" the teen only replied, putting his hand on the boy's mouth.

He waited a moment, then removed his hand.

"There won't be enough space here for the two of us when it'll come. It'll see us otherwise! Go find somewhere to hide!"

Hiroshi didn't move.

"What's that _it_ you're talking about anyway?" he asked instead.

"Don't play the innocent boy on me."

"I never asked to play your stupid game, alright? So you're gonna tell me what your genius leader decided to do this time!"

Takeshi remained silent for a moment.

"It's not our fault, right…?" he then whispered to himself, "It has nothing to do with entering… Maybe it was only… No…"

"Will you _at least _tell me what that thing you're talking about so religiously is?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know…" Takeshi replied, pronouncing each syllable.

"Well it appears that I do want to know," pointed out the boy, "As well as where you took Kazuya!"

"Look, we got separated, I know nothing about your little friend, and no, you do not want to know what that thing is! Now go hide before it gets you!"

Hiroshi sighed in annoyance and pushed the plants back in Takeshi's face. He wouldn't get anything from him: he'd have to look for Kazuya by himself. He continued his quick exploration, meeting with locked door all the way to the end of the third floor. If all those doors were locked, it meant Kazuya could be anywhere! He sighed and looked at the stairs going down. Maybe Kazuya managed to run away and tried to join him in that room where he found the plate. Hiroshi got down the stairs until he was back in the main hall and walked back in the first room he ever set foot in. He took a couple of steps on the thin layer of mud. It looked like his friend wasn't there. He looked in the room behind the plants, but he wasn't there either. His friend probably didn't notice the room there if he even came in here. He turned around to head out when something caught his attention.

The plate: it was gone. Instead, a key was lying there.

* * *

**-Kazuya-**

Kazuya let go of his nose for a couple of seconds and touched it with his finger. He grabbed it again when he felt a sharp pain coming from it. He glanced at Ryota leaning on the wall and looked back down, feeling uneasy with.

After a moment of awkward silence, he stood up from the side of the bath and headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Ryota, not moving at all.

A part of Kazuya whispered fearfully to him to sit back on the bath before he'd get a punch in the face, but another part of him reminded him Ryota had carried him here when that… _thing_ attacked. If he was kind enough to bring him here, he wouldn't punch him if he opened the bathroom door. Kazuya still decided to take a safe way.

"I'm going to look for my friend," he said more quietly than he wished.

When Ryota didn't answer anything, he regretted speaking up, feeling the teen's dark eyes scanning him, as if he thought Kazuya was hiding something.

"I'd rather not if I was you," finally answered Ryota, arms still crossed on his chest.

The boy escaped Ryota's intimidating look by glancing at the door right in front of him.

"Hiroshi's still out there… I have to find him…" he whispered out, not used to talk back at all.

"I wouldn't worry about him, actually," replied the teen, playing with his white forelock. "You don't need to be his friend to know he's a smart kid. I'm pretty sure he already found somewhere to hide."

"If he doesn't know about the monster, he's not going to hide, but if he does know about it, he'll look for me… I can't stay here and wait for him… I have to find him…"

Ryota looked blankly at him for a moment.

"That is, if you find the courage to turn that knob," he replied, surprisingly not with a mocking tone, "It's not about what you _have_ to do or _want_ to do, it's about what you _will_ do, you know."

Kazuya looked at the teen, then the door.

"I _will_ find him… Right now!" he said, touching the doorknob.

"Alright, I'm coming," sighed Ryota. "Can't let a gullible kid randomly run around here…"

Kazuya didn't answer and opened the door. He felt a bit more secure being with a stronger boy, but he also didn't feel safe at all knowing he was with those bullies all along. At the same time, Ryota did take him here and stayed with him afterwards. It was hard to not see him as a bad guy, but easy at the same time. He wasn't sure if he could actually trust him, but his only choice was to stick with him and stay on his guards just in case. The question was quickly pushed away by the thought of Hiroshi. He hoped he was alright. If he found him dead… He couldn't tell how he'd react exactly, but he knew it couldn't be anything but fatal to him. An image of his corpse appeared in his mind and he immediately regretted thinking about it. Just at the sight he made up, he felt like tearing up. For now, there was nothing he could do but hope this image would never become reality and come to his sight.

* * *

**This seperation of chapters is a "meanwhile" system, so it's like happenning at the same time. I'm pretty sure you know what I meant :P**

**I recently found out Kazuya's and Ryota's almost official (I actually don't know that)english names are Samuel and Jackson  
... my reaction?**

**JAPANESE NAMES ROCK!**

**Hey, Anon (I forgot to write it in the Christmas one-shot) about the Midnight Game, I put the "rip out your organs" part because it was part of the creepypasta, but I thought it was only to ask some gore to the legend and it was the element spoiling the whole thing. I decided to used it in the worst fear 'cause, y'know, who wants to have their organs ripped out? I know the ending wasn't so great, but I knew that if I didn't write it at that moment, I never would, and for now, I'm right about myself. I might re-write it and edit the story later if the ending is better.**

**About the last chapter with the "Hiroshi slips on stuff", it's just that he slipped because the floor is just too dirty... but I guess I could add mud or something.  
There actually was a cat in v1, and at the exact moment you guessed it was. I don't remember where I found the english version... I think I followed a link on the ao oni wiki or something...**


	4. Encounter

**Chapter 4**

**-Hiroshi-**

_Library, huh? How nice… _thought Hiroshi with a huge amount of sarcasm. _It's gonna be a real bug festival…_

He put the key in his uniform's overcoat.

_That is, if the key even fits in the lock with all that rust on it…_

The boy sighed and walked back toward the main hall. It was probably all planned by Takuro. He surely organized a sort of game. What was the point of it? No idea, maybe it didn't even have a purpose, knowing Takuro. That weird game with all these keys would be overly long, he just knew it. He looked at his watch. It had already been an hour and a half since they stepped in the mansion. It had felt like three. He only grumbled as he made his way back into the main hall.

_Everything is huge in this place, the library will be no exception._

He guessed a massive library would not be on a high floor due to the unbelievable weight it would put on the floor, so he decided to start with the first floor. He walked to his left, since he remembered the bathrooms were on the right. There was one locked door on that side, but he guessed it was another bathroom, so he'd check it last. A very faint grin appeared on his face when the key fitted in and easily turned. Hiroshi pulled it out, to find half of it cleaned of the rust.

_Did it stay in the lock…? How did it even happen?_ He decided to ignore it and walk in the room instead. _Let's just hope the floor didn't break with all that weight._

The floor was intact when he came in. He couldn't see anything yet, but the dead end at the other side and an opening at approximately half the distance. The floor felt uncomfortably cold through his shoes and an obvious smell of humidity and old paper came to his nose. He walked through the opening and took a quick glance around. There were huge bookshelves to his right filled with books that Hiroshi couldn't help, but stare in disgust. They were gray from dust and mold and had a green color on certain spots due to mushrooms or something. He quickly turned away from them to not get sick and looked at the broken table forming a V (An M if the legs were counted) in front of him instead. The few yellowed papers that had probably been once at the corner of the table were piled up in the middle, their side on the muddy floor. Hiroshi could bet it had been a beautiful (and even dreamy) room before it became… _rotten_. He quickly snapped out of his observation and turned his head to look around for a few second.

_If I was Takuro, where would I hide the key?_

Of course, he didn't wish to be Takuro. He didn't wish to be a dumb cocky douchebag. That guy really looked like a douchebag with his sleeves rolled up, his ear piercing and his expensive-looking watch. There was also that weird habit of his to always rearrange his shirt's collar with one or two buttons detached to show… Hiroshi wasn't so sure what Takuro wanted to show. His collarbone? Nothing was really special about his collarbone. Let's say when you get bullied almost every day by the same guy, you get to notice some stuff.

Hiroshi headed to the table. He didn't want to touch the book, so he started there hoping he'd find something to continue Takuro's game. He moved some sheets and found another rusty key.

_Good thing he was dumb on that one… Though if he's really making a game, he'll probably make it harder later._

He heard the door slam behind him. He turned toward the source of the noise, the opening.

"Kazuya?" he said, hoping to get an answer from his friend.

He expected to see Kazuya's frail shape, but froze into place seeing the large purple hand gripping the wall. A head followed, so did the rest of the body, and it was the most horrible thing Hiroshi had ever seen. The creature's skin had the same color as an internal bleeding. Its head had the same size as the rest of its body, and its face was distorted by a wide smile. Its teeth were light brown close to red, the same color a dried drop of blood had. Hiroshi couldn't get his gaze off its eyes while it slowly walked toward him. They seemed so empty, he felt like his mind was getting sucked by them, forcing his body to stand alone like a stone statue.

Hiroshi had never experienced pure terror. He never knew what it felt to be so scared that it was impossible to scream. He knew now, and no matter how he tried to snap out of it, he couldn't move or make a single sound. The monster stopped when it stood at his level, tilting its head as if it asked itself what this little thing in front of it was. Hiroshi finally moved, but slowly. He didn't know this horrible monster, he'd rather play careful. The back of his foot got stuck between the two table parts behind him, making him fall on his back (More on his schoolbag) right in the middle of the papers with a quiet grunt. He noticed the small space between the broken table and the wall. Maybe he could escape from there if he was quick enough. The problem would be to get up. Just by falling, he seemed to have made the creature react, what would happen if he stood up?

The monster looked at him for a few seconds before raising its hand above his body stuck between the two table pieces. It's only at the last second that Hiroshi realized what it was about to do. Its hand falling toward him reactivated completely both his entire body and his vocal chords. He pushed himself on the wall with a loud scream. He shot straight up, not even raising his arm to protect his face from the few pieces of wood flying around. He darted to the opening and turned to the door. He could hear heavy steps behind him.

The creature was following him.

**-Kazuya-**

"Do you mind hurrying up?" said Ryota. "You see he's not here…"

"Maybe he's hiding around here…" replied Kazuya.

"He wouldn't have stayed hidden if he heard you."

"Well, he probably saw the monster after us. Maybe he saw something we didn't."

"Like…?" asked the teen.

"Hallucinations maybe."

Ryota only rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"I highly doubt he'd hang out in this shit room. Let's just go."

Kazuya had a feeling as he peeked behind the plants. Why did he feel like Hiroshi had been there not so long ago? He turned away and joined Ryota at the door.

"I wonder where Takeshi went…" wondered the teen out loud. "I did see him run up the stairs."

"He probably moved downstairs while we were searching."

"Maybe… though he's not the type to move around."

"Maybe the demon found him, so he went somewhere else."

"Find Takeshi? Nah, that guy is the master of hiding. I could spend half-an-hour looking for him when we were little," he snickered.

"Half-an-hour? And you could last that long looking for him?"

"I was a patient kid… or maybe my pride took over my patience."

They took a few steps away from the room and got down the stairs to their left. They had searched through the entire upper building (well, the rooms they could search in anyway), and there was no trace of Hiroshi or Ryota's gang.

"Maybe he's looking in the bathrooms," suggested Kazuya when they reached the main hall.

Ryota didn't say anything and walked toward the doors to their right. They had already checked the second bathroom, and they had been hiding in the first one, but they could always take a quick peek before searching the other side and the back part of the mansion. There was no place to hide anyway in there, so it would take less than a minute for both of the rooms.

"Was the bath full when we left?" asked Kazuya once they were in the bathroom they used to hide in.

Ryota walked closer to the bath. It was indeed filled with a thick-looking murky liquid. It had splashed a bit on the wall and the floor, making the surroundings even dirtier. He didn't know why, but he felt uneasy in front of that bath.

"I don't know, who cares? It's just a bath," he answered, trying to hide his sickness.

Kazuya noticed his voice was lightly quivering, but he blamed it on the cold (He had a vest while Ryota had only his shirt). The teen turned around to get out of the room.

"Let's check the other side," he said.

Kazuya nodded and followed him through the main hall. That's when he noticed his school bag.

"Should I take it?" he asked.

"Is there any food in it?"

"No," replied the child with a confused frown, "I ate home today."

"Then leave it there, I doubt this thing has any interest in your homework."

"But, what if—"

"Do you really want a weight to slow you down?"

"No…"

"Then leave it."

The boy didn't argue and silently followed the teen to the other side. The two first doors in the hallway were locked, but the third one at the end of the corridor didn't resist to Ryota's wrist.

Kazuya flinched and clung to Ryota's arm. At first, the boys though they were about to fall in a hole. When the child realized he jumped for nothing, he let go of the teen's arm and put them in his pockets, a bit ashamed of himself. The room wasn't dark; it was covered in soot and cold ashes. They could feel this black dust trying to get into their nose, leaving a strong and disgusting smell of burning wood. Hiroshi and the others were surely not there; they would have looked like shining statues in this. They were about to leave when Ryota noticed a shining doorknob. It was the only thing clean and not covered in soot. He opened the door (That was also unlocked) and stepped in the room, their feet leaving a few black marks behind them.

The other room was clean (well, compared to the other room; there was still that layer of mud), but it looked like someone went on a rampage inside. There were only two tables, a couch and an old disc player with the said old black disc, but he doubted they were at their original place. The couch was turned upside down and almost blocking the following door, the what-used-to-be a coffee table was broken in half, one part next to the wall on the right, the other near the center, but closer to the left. The second table was right next to the boys while the disk player was broken in several pieces in the upper right corner and its splited in four black disk was under Kazuya's foot. Again, there was nowhere to look, except the walls and floor.

When Ryota put his hand on the knob, they heard a faint sound of a door slamming.

"He's there!" exclaimed Kazuya.

The teen took a hold of his arm before he could leave.

"Do you realize how loud that was?" he said. "That's the demon, not your friend."

"That means he's in there too!"

"No, that means that demon is walking around. We should go as far as possible from this thing."

"But, what if—"

"I'm sure he's not in there. Come on, let's get away."

Kazuya hesitated, but changed his mind and followed Ryota. The room was filled with several bookshelves with tons of books placed in it, some on the floor, others fallen on their shelf. They took a few steps forward, until a voice caught their attention.

"Ryota!" exclaimed a voice in a half-mocking tone.

The said-teen turned toward the source.

"Takuro?"

The leader of Ryota's gang took a few steps closer to them.

"I see you brought a little _friend_ with you," added the red-haired.

"Did you see the others?" asked the other teen, ignoring his leader's remark.

Takuro only shrugged.

"Meh, they're probably hidden somewhere, knowing Takeshi and Megumi.

"And you didn't, maybe… you know, look for them?"

"Nah, I didn't feel like it."

The leader approached Kazuya (who glanced at Ryota out of uneasiness) and lightly crouched.

"How's this thing doing?" he asked.

The child didn't understand what Takuro meant before he pushed his nose sideways. The boy backed away and put his hand around his nose with a moan.

"Hey! Knock it off!" exclaimed Ryota as he pushed away Takuro's hand trying to get to Kazuya's nose again.

"You're on his side now?" said the leader with a frown.

"I'm not taking sides. I'm just intelligent enough to know it's not the time for one of your bullying session."

"Come on, you can't say no to a bit of fun…"

"_Fun_? Because you count breaking someone's nose as fun?"

"I know you thought it was funny."

"I don't remember laughing."

"When did you start defending the little guys?"

"Since you fucking break noses."

The boy looked up at them. Was that hatred he could see in their eyes? A scream came to their ears. Kazuya immediately recognized the voice.

"Hiroshi!"

The child ran out of the room, soon followed by Ryota who didn't really want to stay in the room with the leader. They ran back in the room with soot and ashes, but blocked when they reached the other door. It was covered with those plants dug into the ground that Kazuya started to pull violently.

"Help me!" he said, looking at Ryota with pleading eyes.

The teen didn't want to get close to the demon, but he didn't want to be stuck in this room either. The plants looked pretty solid, so maybe by the time they would have made their way through, the monster would be gone. He grabbed a couple of branches, put his right foot on the wall, and started pulling.

* * *

**I had a long trip in car, so I had all the time I wanted to write. The problem was to revise, though :P**

**(I feel like it would be weird to answer to your comment through PM because it's an old one Anon/Author, so I'll answer her for now, but next time's gonna be through PM)  
I decided to put Takeshi behind the plants because I decided closets didn't exist in my story! I wanted to make the mansion dirty and abandonned, so I went aaallll the waaayy XD  
What grew? Plants only the mansion itself can have... Though none of the guys are really familiar with plants and all, so they don't realize it. But to be more precise, vine-like, but it's majorly wood :P  
Don't give me ideas you could regret giving me~ But I saw zombie Ryota and I think he looks sooo cooool!**

**Sorry, people, I have no idea when my next upgrade is going to be...  
I also have a little poll on my profile if you want to answer :****)**

**So, please leave a review and see you in the next chapter!**


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